About Winnipeg

Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of the Canadian province of Manitoba.

It is by far Manitoba's largest city with a population of 633,451. The Winnipeg Metropolitan Area (which includes Winnipeg and surrounding rural municipalities) has a population of 694,668 and is the eighth largest Census Metropolitan Area in Canada.

Winnipeg lies in close proximity to hundreds of lakes. including Lake Winnipeg, Canada's fifth largest lake and the world's eleventh largest, as well as Lake Manitoba and Lake of the Woods.

The city is located near the geographic centre of North America, on a flood plain at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, a point now commonly known as The Forks.

A resident of Winnipeg is known as a Winnipegger.

Geography and Climate

Winnipeg is situated just east of the longitudinal centre of Canada (near the geographical centre of North America), and approximately 100 kilometres (60 miles) north of the border with the United States.

It is near the eastern edge of the Canadian Prairies, and about 70 kilometres (45 miles) south of Lake Winnipeg. It is situated in the floodplain of the Red River and is surrounded by rich agricultural land.

The closest urban area with over 500,000 people is the twin cities of Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota.

Winnipeg Summers are warm to hot and often quite humid with frequent thunderstorms. The summers in Winnipeg are similar to those experienced in cities in the Midwestern United States.

Spring and autumn are short and highly variable seasons. In a typical year temperatures range from -30° C to 30° C, recorded extremes are 40.6° C and -50° C (105.1° F to -52° F). The weather is characterized by an abundance of sunshine throughout the year.

Winnipeg is the second sunniest city in Canada in the winter and has the second clearest skies year-round.

Due to its location in the centre of a large land mass and its distance from both mountains and oceans, Winnipeg has an extreme continental climate.

The city’s northerly location is also influential, though Winnipeg is located farther south than cities like London or Amsterdam.

The city is famous for its long, cold and snowy winters, and is often referred to as “Winterpeg”. According to Environment Canada, Winnipeg is the coldest city in the world with a population of over 600,000.

Winnipeg is one of Canada's sunniest cities, and the weather in all seasons is characterized by an abundance of sunshine.

The city receives an average of 2,372 hours of sunshine per year compared with 1,928 hours at Vancouver and 2,037 hours at Toronto. July is the sunniest month, and November the least sunny.

Winnipeg, like Chicago, is also known as a windy city. The average annual wind speed is 16.9 km/h (10.5 mph), predominantly from the south. The city has experienced wind gusts of up to 129 km/h (80 mph). The windiest weather usually occurs during blizzards or thunderstorms. April is the windiest month, and July the least windy. Tornadoes are not uncommon in the area, particularly in the spring and summer months.

History

Winnipeg lies at the confluence of the Assiniboine River and Red River, which is also known as The Forks, and was a focal point on canoe river routes traveled by aboriginal peoples for thousands of years. The name Winnipeg is a transcription of a western Cree word meaning "muddy waters".

In 1869-1870, Winnipeg was the site of the Red River Rebellion, a conflict between the local Métis people led by Louis Riel and newcomers from eastern Canada. This rebellion led directly to Manitoba's entry into Confederation as Canada's fifth province in 1870.

On November 8, 1873, Winnipeg was incorporated as a city. In 1876, the post office officially adopted the name "Winnipeg," three years after the city's incorporation.

Early 20th century

Winnipeg experienced a boom during the 1890s and the first two decades of the twentieth century, and the city's population grew from 25,000 in 1891 to more than 200,000 in 1921. Immigration increased during this period, and Winnipeg took on its distinctive multicultural character.

The Manitoba Legislative Building reflects the optimism of the boom years. Built of Tyndall Stone and opened in 1920, its dome supports a bronze statue finished in gold leaf titled "Eternal Youth and the Spirit of Enterprise" but commonly known as the "Golden Boy". The Legislature was built in the neoclassical style that is common to many other North American state and provincial legislative buildings of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Winnipeg's growth slowed considerably after the opening of the Panama Canal in 1914. The canal reduced reliance on Canada's rail system for international trade, and the increase in ship traffic helped Vancouver surpass Winnipeg to become Canada's third-largest city in the 1920s.

Winnipeg General Strike

As a result of appalling labour conditions following World War I, 35,000 Winnipeggers walked off the job in May 1919, in what came to be known as the Winnipeg General Strike of 1919.

The government broke the strike through arrests, deportation and violence. The strike ended June 21, 1919, when the Riot Act was read and a group of Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) officers charged a group of strikers; two strikers were killed and at least 30 others were injured, resulting in the day being known as Bloody Saturday. The lasting effect was a polarized population.

One of the leaders of the strike, J.S. Woodsworth, went on to found Canada's first major socialist party, the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF), which would later become the New Democratic Party.

Great Depression and World War II

The stock market crash in 1929 only hastened an already steep decline in Winnipeg. The Great Depression resulted in massive unemployment, which was worsened by drought and depressed agricultural prices.

The Depression ended when World War II broke out in 1939. Thousands of Canadians volunteered to join the forces. In Winnipeg,

Post-World War II and 1950 flood

The end of World War II brought a new sense of optimism in Winnipeg. Pent-up demand brought a boom in housing development, but the building activity came to a halt in 1950 when the city was swamped by the 1950 flood, the largest flood to hit Winnipeg since 1861. The flood held waters above flood stage for 51 days. On May 8, 1950, eight dikes collapsed and four of the city's eleven bridges were destroyed. Nearly 70,000 people had to be evacuated.

The federal government estimated damages at over $26 million, although the province insisted it was at least double that.

To prevent future floods, the Red River Basin Investigation recommended a system of flood control measures, including multiple diking systems and a floodway to divert the Red River around Winnipeg. This prompted the construction of the Red River Floodway under Premier Dufferin Roblin.

Post 1970

The current city of Winnipeg was created when the City of Winnipeg Act was amended to form Unicity in 1971. The municipalities of St. James-Assiniboia, St. Boniface, Transcona, St. Vital, West Kildonan, East Kildonan, Tuxedo, Old Kildonan, North Kildonan, Fort Garry, and Charleswood were amalgamated with the Old City of Winnipeg.

In 1979, the Eaton's catalogue building was converted into the first downtown mall in the city. It was called Eaton Place but changed its name to Cityplace following the demise of the entire Eaton's chain in 1999

Economy

Located at the eastern edge of the great plains of Western Canada, Winnipeg plays a prominent role in transportation, finance, manufacturing, agriculture and education.

Because all rail and highway traffic between eastern and western Canada must travel through or near the city, it is often called the "Gateway to the West".

Winnipeg is an important regional centre of commerce, industry, culture, finance, and government.

In 2003 and 2004, Canadian Business magazine ranked Winnipeg in the top 10 cities for business. In 2006, Winnipeg was ranked by KPMG as one of the lowest cost locations to do business in Canada.

Approximately 375,000 people are employed in Winnipeg and the surrounding area.

Winnipeg's largest employers are either government or government-funded institutions: the Province of Manitoba, the City of Winnipeg, the University of Manitoba, the Health Sciences Centre, the Casinos of Winnipeg, and Manitoba Hydro.

Approximately 54,000 people or 14% of the work force are employed in the public sector.

Winnipeg is the site of Canadian Forces Base Winnipeg and the headquarters of 1 Canadian Air Division, as well as home to several reserve units.

The Royal Canadian Mint located in eastern Winnipeg is where all circulating coinage in Canada is produced. The plant, established in 1975, also produces coins for many other countries in the world.

Winnipeg is also home to the National Microbiology Laboratory, Canada's front line in its response to SARS and one of only 15 Biosafety level 4 microbiology laboratories in the world.

Real Estate

As with much of Western Canada, in 2007, Winnipeg experienced both a building and real estate boom. In May of 2007, the Winnipeg Real Estate Board reported the best month in its 104-year history in terms of sales and volume.

Education

In Manitoba, education is governed principally by The Public Schools Act and The Education Administration Act, as well as regulations made under both Acts.

Rights and responsibilities of the Minister of Education, Citizenship and Youth and the rights and responsibilities of school boards, principals, teachers, parents and students are set out in the legislation.

There are two major universities, a community college, a private Mennonite college and a French college in St. Boniface.

The University of Manitoba is the largest university of the province of Manitoba, most comprehensive and only research-intensive post-secondary educational institution. It was founded in 1877, making it Western Canada’s first university. In a typical year, the university has an enrollment of 24,542 undergraduate students and 3,021 graduate students.

The University of Winnipeg received its charter in 1967 but its roots date back more than 130 years. The founding colleges were Manitoba College 1871, and Wesley College 1888, which merged to form United College in 1938.

Winnipeg is also home to numerous private schools, both religious and secular.

Construction on the planned Canadian Museum for Human Rights is slated to begin at the Forks during the fall of 2007. It will be the first Canadian national museum outside of the National Capital Region.

Winnipeg hosted the Pan-American Games in 1967 and 1999, the only city other than Mexico City to have hosted the event twice. The 1999 Pan Am Games were the biggest multi-sport event ever held in Canada, and the third largest ever held in North America, after the Atlanta and Los Angeles Olympics.

In recent years, the province has very successfully played host to many sporting events such as the Grey Cup, the World Curling Championships and the Canada Summer Games.

Recreation

Residents of Winnipeg have access to 2.5 million acres of parkland and more than 100 golf courses in the province. Winnipeggers can fish in one of the province’s 100,000 pristine lakes, hike over the sand dunes in the desert near Carberry, or stroll along the many long, sandy beaches. In fact, Grand Beach on Lake Winnipeg is one of the best in North America. You can watch the huge and varied flocks of birds from the boardwalks at Oak Hammock Marsh. The choices are almost endless. Best of all, there are so many great outdoor locations and activities that it is easy to get away from the crowds.

Shopping

Transportation

Winnipeg has had a public transit system since the 1880s, starting with horse-drawn streetcars. Electric streetcars from 1891 until 1955, and electric trolley buses from 1938 until 1970.

Winnipeg Transit now operates entirely with diesel buses. For decades, the city has explored the idea of a rapid transit link, either bus or rail, from downtown to the University of Manitoba's suburban campus.

The city is directly connected to the United States via Highway 75 (a northern continuation of I-29 and US 75). The highway runs 107 kilometres to Emerson, Manitoba, the 8th busiest border crossing. Much of the commercial traffic that crosses in Emerson either originates from or is destined to Winnipeg. Inside the city, the highway is locally known as Pembina Highway.

Winnipeg's airport, recently renamed as Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport, is currently under redevelopment. A new terminal building is scheduled for completion by 2009. The field was Canada's first international airport when it opened in 1928 as Stevenson Aerodrome.

Winnipeg is unique among North American cities its size in that it does not have freeways within the urban area.

Beginning in 1958, the primarily suburban Metropolitan council proposed a system of freeways, including one that would have bisected the downtown area.

A modern four-lane highway called the Perimeter Highway was built in 1969. It serves as an expressway around the city (also known as a ring road) with interchanges and at-grade intersections that bypass the city entirely. It allows travellers on the Trans-Canada Highway to avoid the city and continue east or west uninterrupted.

Home Service Providers

Local Media

Winnipeg has two daily newspapers, six English television stations, one French television station, 25 AM and FM radio stations and a variety a regional and nationally based magazines that call the city home.